By Debra Smiley Holtzman
Sentient Publications; $14.95
BUY NOW
As the mother of a very active toddler, I eagerly anticipated reading The Safe Baby. I wasn’t disappointed. This comprehensive guide will help you make your home as safe as possible for a new baby or a young child. In addition to things you already knew (check the bathwater to avoid scalding your child), it’s chock-full of lesser-known safety tips. (Did you know you shouldn’t feed your baby home-prepared collard greens? They may contain large amounts of nitrates, which can cause an anemic condition.)
Rest assured, this book is not all doom and gloom. The author, a nationally recognized health expert, tells you how to rectify these potentially dangerous situations — by doing it yourself, or by suggesting the appropriate professional for you to hire.
The author seems to have had the busy parent in mind: Each chapter concludes with a bulleted summary of its main points. At the end of the book, you’ll find a room-by-room checklist and product recommendations.
Though this book wasn’t written specifically for adoptive families, I wish I’d found it before our homestudy. But even though I missed out, I now have the perfect gift for other prospective parents preparing for that visit.
